An occupant knee protection apparatus for a vehicle of such a type is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. H9-123863. The patent publication discloses a leg protection apparatus in which a knee airbag module is connected to a reinforcement member within a vehicle by means of a bracket having a weakened portion that absorbs impact force through deformation.
In the leg protection apparatus of the above-mentioned patent publication, upon collision of the vehicle, the knee airbag expands and deploys toward a knee portion of an occupant to thereby receive an impact load of the knee portion of the occupant. Further, the bracket can receive a portion of the load which the knee airbag has failed to receive. However, the leg protection apparatus cannot sufficiently cope with variations in knee position or load stemming from variation in physique among possible occupants, and fails to optimally absorb energy.